PALMOILMAGAZINE, JAKARTA – At the Festival Like 2 in Jakarta this week, the villagers of Rantau Bertuah in the Minas Subdistrict, Siak Regency, Riau Province, will receive Indonesia’s first decision to officially recognize their long-occupied forest land as legal.
Published under Minister of Environment and Forestry Decree Number 617/2024, this decision will grant legal status to smallholders who have cultivated the land for about 20 years.
Afni Zulkifli, Expert Staff to the Minister of Environment and Forestry, expressed his satisfaction, stating, “Alhamdulillah, the Blue Decision for the Village of Rantau Bertuah will be presented at the Festival Like 2 in Jakarta.
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This is a significant step in resolving tenure conflicts and protecting the villagers’ rights in these forest areas,” as quoted by Palmoilmagazine.com from Media Indonesia on Wednesday, August 7, 2024.
This status change aligns with the implementation of the Omnibus Law on Job Creation (UUCK), which aims to address issues for villagers who have cultivated land under five hectares for approximately two decades. The decision is part of the government’s efforts to resolve land tenure issues in forest regions, as outlined in the second revision of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry regulations covering seven villages in Siak Regency.
The next would be about to get the legal definitively by having indicative maps. This would be the important base in the process. Afni emphasized the process would run as the available regulations to confirm that the villagers of Rantau Bertuah would get the advantages legally and sustainably. (P2)
